Privacy Act

[RSBC 1996] CHAPTER 373

Violation of privacy actionable

1(1) It is a tort, actionable without proof of damage, for a person, wilfully and
without a claim of right, to violate the privacy of another.

(2) The nature and degree of privacy to which a person is entitled in a situation or
in relation to a matter is that which is reasonable in the circumstances, giving due
regard to the lawful interests of others.

(3) In determining whether the act or conduct of a person is a violation of another's
privacy, regard must be given to the nature, incidence and occasion of the act or conduct
and to any domestic or other relationship between the parties.

(4) Without limiting subsections (1) to (3), privacy may be violated by
eavesdropping or surveillance, whether or not accomplished by trespass.

Exceptions

2(1) In this section:

"court" includes a person authorized by law to administer an
oath for taking evidence when acting for the purpose for which the person is authorized to
take evidence;

"crime" includes an offence against a law of British
Columbia.

(2) An act or conduct is not a violation of privacy if any of the following
applies:

(a) it is consented to by some person entitled to consent;

(b) the act or conduct was incidental to the exercise of a lawful right of defence
of person or property;

(c) the act or conduct was authorized or required under a law in force in British
Columbia, by a court or by any process of a court;

(d) the act or conduct was that of

(i) a peace officer acting in the course of his or her duty to prevent, discover
or investigate crime or to discover or apprehend the perpetrators of a crime,
or

(ii) a public officer engaged in an investigation in the course of his or her duty
under a law in force in British Columbia,

and was neither disproportionate to the gravity of the crime or matter subject
to investigation nor committed in the course of a trespass.

(3) A publication of a matter is not a violation of privacy if

(a) the matter published was of public interest or was fair comment on a matter of
public interest, or

(b) the publication was privileged in accordance with the rules of law relating to
defamation.

(4)
Subsection
(3) does not extend to any other act or conduct by which the matter published
was obtained if that other act or conduct was itself a violation of privacy.

Unauthorized use of name or portrait of another

3(1) In this section, "portrait" means a likeness, still or moving,
and includes

(a) a likeness of another deliberately disguised to resemble the plaintiff,
and

(b) a caricature.

(2) It is a tort, actionable without proof of damage, for a person to use the name or
portrait of another for the purpose of advertising or promoting the sale of, or other
trading in, property or services, unless that other, or a person entitled to consent on
his or her behalf, consents to the use for that purpose.

(3) A person is not liable to another for the use for the purposes stated in subsection (2)
of a name identical with, or so similar as to be capable of being mistaken for, that of
the other, unless the court is satisfied that

(a) the defendant specifically intended to refer to the plaintiff or to exploit his
or her name or reputation, or

(b) either on the same occasion or on some other occasion in the course of a program
of advertisement or promotion, the name was connected, expressly or impliedly, with
other material or details sufficient to distinguish the plaintiff, to the public at
large or to the members of the community in which he or she lives or works, from others
of the same name.

(4) A person is not liable to another for the use, for the purposes stated in
subsection
(2), of his or her portrait in a picture of a group or gathering, unless the
plaintiff is

(a) identified by name or description, or his or her presence is emphasized, whether
by the composition of the picture or otherwise, or

(b) recognizable, and the defendant, by using the picture, intended to exploit the
plaintiff's name or reputation.

(5) Without prejudice to the requirements of any other case, in order to render
another liable for using his or her name or portrait for the purposes of advertising or
promoting the sale of

(a) a newspaper or other publication, or the services of a broadcasting undertaking,
the plaintiff must establish that his or her name or portrait was used specifically in
connection with material relating to the readership, circulation or other qualities of
the newspaper or other publication, or to the audience, services or other qualities of
the broadcasting undertaking, as the case may be, and

(b) goods or services on account of the use of the name or portrait of the other in
a radio or television program relating to current or historical events or affairs, or
other matters of public interest, that is sponsored or promoted by or on behalf of the
makers, distributors, vendors or suppliers of the goods or services, the plaintiff must
establish that his or her name or portrait was used specifically in connection with
material relating to the goods or services, or to their manufacturers, distributors,
vendors or suppliers.

Action to be determined in Supreme Court

4Despite anything contained in another Act, an action under this Act must be heard
and determined by the Supreme Court.

Action does not survive death

5An action or right of action for a violation of privacy or for the unauthorized use
of the name or portrait of another for the purposes stated in this Act is extinguished by
the death of the person whose privacy is alleged to have been violated or whose name or
portrait is alleged to have been used without authority.